Hiking briskly down
the forest trail towards Reef Bay, I was hoping to
reach the bay trees while there was still enough light to take some photos and
then return before sunset. By then the shadows on the path could make the climb
back uphill perilous rather than just exhausting.
On bright days the bay
tree grove provides a welcome relief from the heat of the open trail. The high
canopy of trees provides shade, and there is usually at least a trickle through
the gut that waters the trees before running down towards the east end of Fish
Bay. The cool, quiet air is scented by the bay oil, and who can resist reaching
up to catch some low-hanging leaves and crushing them to release the spicy
fragrance. If any mosquitoes come by, rubbing the oil on your skin should keep
them away.
There isn’t much
underbrush, and the smooth tree trunks seem to glow slightly in the shadowy
forest. It is a place that seems timeless, removed from the noisy activity in
other parts of the island, and the seascapes that generally define the visual
experience of the place.
But why are these
trees here? Are they remnants from a ruined plantation nearby, or just naturally
enjoying this spot?
I have seen the bay
trees on the loop trail across from Cinnamon Bay, and I know that bay oil production
was an important industry on St. John at one time. In fact, when the islands
were sold to the United States in 1917, it was the only significant commercial
activity, and St. John’s trees were world-renowned for their excellent quality.
You can see the
remains of the still that was used to produce bay oil among the ruins near
Cinnamon Bay. The bay rum factory operated there from 1903 up until the end of
World War II. Those bay trees were cultivated by the Danish West India
Plantation Company, which bought the land around Cinnamon Bay in 1903 and
produced oil for bay rum manufacturers on St. Thomas. The bay oil was distilled
from the leaves, mixed with rum from St. Croix, and distilled again, with
spices added, to create the bay rum after shave lotion.
There were already bay
trees on St. John when the Europeans first arrived, used by the earlier
inhabitants to flavor their food and drinks. Only the Europeans called these
trees (whose Latin name is Pimenta racemosa) other names, including wild
cinnamon, or wild ‘caneel’, the Dutch word for cinnamon - and named some of the
bays on St. John in a way that confuses people looking for cinnamon trees.
The cinnamon most of
us are familiar with (Cinnamon zeylanicum), is a member of the laurel family,
not the myrtle family like the bay trees, and comes from Asia, particularly the island of Sri Lanka
off the coast of India, formerly the British colony of Ceylon.
To add to the
confusion there is another tree called wild cinnamon (Canela winterana) that is
native to the Virgin Islands, and its bark was also sometimes used similarly as
a spice.
Meanwhile, I learned
that the bay leaves you cook with are not the same ones that are used to produce
bay rum. The cooking ones are from the laurel family, and are generally used as
a savory flavoring in Mediterranean cuisine.
Robert
Nicholls, author of the great book Remarkable Big Trees in the US Virgin
Islands, wrote an article about ‘Medicinal Trees of the US Virgin
Islands and Neighboring Islands’ that outlines the folk-medicinal uses of ten
local trees, including the bay rum tree. He reports that Virgin Islanders
traditionally used bay leaves for digestive purposes, to quiet upset stomachs
and as an appetite stimulant. Also, someone with a cold or fever might be
treated by putting bay leaves over their body, or making a tea to get rid of
the chills. Rubbing the leaves on your skin can relive pain and soothe
irritations.
For me the smell of
the crushed bay leaves brings up childhood memories of my father in New York,
freshly shaved and dressed in his suit, leaning down to kiss me on his way out
in the morning. Bay rum was a very popular after shave lotion then, sold in all
the best stores.
Actually, I began
researching bay oil and bay rum production in connection with a project for the
United Nations Development Program about sustainable livelihoods based on
products made from indigenous plants and trees. From one of the case studies, I
learned that on Dominica the members of an Essential Oils and Spices
Cooperative are producing bay oil for use in perfumes and cosmetics. Dominica
is currently the main producer of bay oil, with exports to the US, Europe and
the UK.
I have also come
across a number of recipes for making your own bay rum skin lotion at home by
soaking bay leaves in alcohol. One calls for putting a couple
of leaves in a large sealed jar for a few weeks in a dark cool place (but not
in the refrigerator) with 4 ounces of vodka, 2 tablespoons of rum, some
allspice, a broken up stick of cinnamon, and some orange peel zest.
It sounds like a good
punch recipe, but they warn that the bay leaves will make the concoction toxic
to drink. After a few weeks of steeping, you can strain off the liquid and slap
it on your face, or wherever. I can’t wait to whip some up as presents for the
debonair men in my life.
